Facial Spacer Device and Associated Methods

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides systems and methods for decreasing breath condensation on a facial garment or covering. In one aspect, for example, a system for creating a breathing space between a facial covering and a subject&#39;s mouth and nose can include a facial covering operable to at least partially encircle at least a portion of a subject&#39;s head and/or neck and a facial spacer operable to be removably positioned between the facial covering and the subject adjacent the subject&#39;s mouth and nose. The facial spacer is free to move relative to the facial covering when the facial covering is in position adjacent the subject&#39;s mouth and nose.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to face coverings and devicesand methods associated therewith.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Conventional cold weather face masks, neck garments, and the like, havebeen used for some time to protect users from cold environments. Whilesome such articles provide a comfortable fit, others can be cumbersomeand restrictive, particularly when used in cold environments. In somecases, such has been accomplished by wrapping the face and head withvarious materials. In some cases, holes have been added to facilitatebreathing. Such wrapping can provide some protection from the cold, butcan also facilitate breath condensation forming around the mouth andnose. Breath condensation tends to make a user feel cold anduncomfortable, and can in some cases restrict breathing and speech.

Specific types of head/neck wrappings that are common at ski resortsinclude balaclavas and neck garments, also known as “neck gators.” Thesedevices are designed to be positioned over a user's face and neck inorder to provide some protection from the cold. Unlike traditional skimasks, balaclavas and neck garments can be pulled down off the face andunder the chin as temperatures increase. Similarly, as temperaturesdecrease, these garments can be pulled back up over the face asprotection from the cold. As many of these garments are designed toelastically fit to the face and neck, moisture from exhaled air canpenetrate the material and freeze, leaving the frozen or moist garmentwrapped tightly around the users face. Additionally, goggles and glassesoften tend to fog as well when breath is dispersed throughout thegarment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention provides systems and methods fordecreasing breath condensation on a facial garment or covering. In oneaspect, for example, a system for creating a breathing space between afacial covering and a subject's mouth and nose can include a facialcovering operable to at least partially encircle at least a portion of asubject's head and/or neck and a facial spacer operable to be removablypositioned between the facial covering and the subject adjacent thesubject's mouth and nose. The facial spacer is free to move relative tothe facial covering when the facial covering is in position adjacent thesubject's mouth and nose and while the spacer is positioned between thefacial covering and the subject's mouth and nose.

In one specific aspect, the facial spacer is removable from between thefacial covering and the subject while the facial covering remains on thesubject. In another specific aspect, the facial spacer is collapsiblewhen removed from between the facial covering and the subject. Thefacial spacer can be made from numerous materials that render itcollapsible. Exemplary materials can include, without limitation,polymeric compounds, natural rubbers, synthetic rubbers, thermoplasticelastomers, and combinations thereof. Collapsible materials can alsoinclude, without limitation, silicone, chloroprene polymers,thermoplastic polyurethanes, and combinations thereof. In one specificaspect the collapsible material is a thermoplastic polyurethane.

In another specific aspect, the facial spacer has a structuralconfiguration such that, when positioned over the mouth and nose, aspace is created between a subject's chin and the facial spacersufficient to allow the chin to move without contacting the facialspacer. Such a configuration allows a subject to move the chin duringspeaking and breathing without having the chin contact the facialspacer.

In yet another specific aspect, the facial spacer has a peripheralsupporting wall operable to support the facial covering away from themouth and nose, and wherein the facial spacer is substantially openproximal to the peripheral supporting wall. In one aspect, theperipheral supporting was is discontinuous.

The present invention additionally provides methods of reducing breathcondensation on a facial covering. Such a method can include pulling afacial covering way from a contact position with a subject's mouth andnose, and inserting a facial spacer between the facial covering and thesubject adjacent the subject's mouth and nose. Thus the facial spacermaintains the facial covering in position away from the subject's mouthand nose. In one aspect, the facial spacer is held in a positionadjacent the subject's mouth and nose by pressure between the facialcovering and the subject. Furthermore, the method can also includeremoving the facial spacer from between the facial covering and thesubject's mouth and nose to allow the facial covering to return to thecontact position. Once removed, the facial spacer can be collapsed toreduce the effective volume of the facial spacer for storage.

In another aspect, a method of reducing breath condensation on a facialcovering can include observing breath condensation on a facial coveringadjacent a subject's mouth and nose, pulling the facial covering wayfrom a contact position with the subject's mouth and nose, and insertinga facial spacer between the facial covering and the subject adjacent thesubject's mouth and nose. In this case the facial spacer maintains thefacial covering in position away from the subject's mouth and nose. Themethod can further include observing a reduction in the breathcondensation on the facial covering, removing the facial spacer frombetween the facial covering and the subject's mouth and nose to allowthe facial covering to return to the contact position, and collapsingthe facial spacer to reduce the effective volume of the facial spacerfor storage.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more importantfeatures of the invention so that the detailed description thereof thatfollows may be better understood, and so that the present contributionto the art may be better appreciated. Other features of the presentinvention will become clearer from the following detailed description ofthe invention, taken with the accompanying drawings and claims, or maybe learned by the practice of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a facial spacer and a facial coveringassociated with a user according to one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a facial covering associated with a useraccording to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a facial spacer, a facial covering, andgoggles associated with a user according to yet another embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a facial spacer according to anotherembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a facial spacer associated with a useraccording to yet another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a facial spacer associated with a useraccording to a further embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a facial spacer according to anotherembodiment of the present invention.

The drawings will be described further in connection with the followingdetailed description. Further, these drawings are not necessarily toscale and are by way of illustration only such that dimensions andgeometries can vary from those illustrated.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Before the present invention is disclosed and described, it is to beunderstood that this invention is not limited to the particularstructures, method steps, or materials disclosed herein, but is extendedto equivalents thereof as would be recognized by those ordinarilyskilled in the relevant arts. It should also be understood thatterminology employed herein is used for the purpose of describingparticular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting.

It must be noted that, as used in this specification and the appendedclaims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referentsunless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example,reference to “a material” includes one or more of such materials, andreference to “the vent” includes reference to one or more of such vents.

Definitions

In describing and claiming the present invention, the followingterminology will be used in accordance with the definitions set forthbelow.

As used herein, the term “substantially” refers to the complete ornearly complete extent or degree of an action, characteristic, property,state, structure, item, or result. As an arbitrary example, an objectthat is “substantially” enclosed is an object that is either completelyenclosed or nearly completely enclosed. The exact allowable degree ofdeviation from absolute completeness may in some cases depend on thespecific context. However, generally speaking the nearness of completionwill be so as to have the same overall result as if absolute and totalcompletion were obtained. The use of “substantially” is equallyapplicable when used in a negative connotation to refer to the completeor near complete lack of an action, characteristic, property, state,structure, item, or result. As an arbitrary example, a composition thatis “substantially free of” particles would either completely lackparticles, or so nearly completely lack particles that the effect wouldbe the same as if it completely lacked particles. In other words, acomposition that is “substantially free of” an ingredient or element maystill actually contain such item as long as there is no measurableeffect thereof.

As used herein, the term “about” is used to provide flexibility to anumerical range endpoint by providing that a given value may be “alittle above” or “a little below” the endpoint.

As used herein, a plurality of items, structural elements, compositionalelements, and/or materials may be presented in a common list forconvenience. However, these lists should be construed as though eachmember of the list is individually identified as a separate and uniquemember. Thus, no individual member of such list should be construed as ade facto equivalent of any other member of the same list solely based ontheir presentation in a common group without indications to thecontrary.

Concentrations, amounts, and other numerical data may be expressed orpresented herein in a range format. It is to be understood that such arange format is used merely for convenience and brevity and thus shouldbe interpreted flexibly to include not only the numerical valuesexplicitly recited as the limits of the range, but also to include allthe individual numerical values or sub-ranges encompassed within thatrange as if each numerical value and sub-range is explicitly recited. Asan illustration, a numerical range of “about 1 micrometers to about 5micrometers” should be interpreted to include not only the explicitlyrecited values of about 1 micrometer to about 5 micrometers, but alsoinclude individual values and sub-ranges within the indicated range.Thus, included in this numerical range are individual values such as 2,3, and 4 and sub-ranges such as from 1-3, from 2-4, and from 3-5, etc.

This same principle applies to ranges reciting only one numerical value.Furthermore, such an interpretation should apply regardless of thebreadth of the range or the characteristics being described.

The Invention

The present invention provides systems and methods for improving comfortwhile wearing various face and neck garments that are often used inoutdoor activities such as skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling, and thelike. As has been described, such head and neck garments (e.g.balaclavas, neck garments, “neck gators,” etc.) provide facial and neckprotection from the cold, but moisture from exhaled air can penetratethe material and freeze, leaving the frozen or moist garment wrappedtightly around the user's face. The present invention provides methodsand systems for reducing the moisture being absorbed into the materialof these garments as well as keeping moist and/or frozen material awayfrom the face of a user, while at the same time allowing for garmentadjustments to be performed as temperatures and/or conditions change.

As is shown in FIG. 1, a user 12 of a facial garment or covering 14 caninsert a facial spacer 16 in accordance with the present inventionbetween the face and the facial covering to provide a breathing spacesufficient to allow breath to be distributed therethrough. Breath, andthe condensation carried by the breath, can thus be expelled out througha larger surface area of the facial covering as compared to having thefacial covering resting directly on the mouth and nose. As thetemperature conditions change (FIG. 2), the facial spacer 16 can beeasily removed from between the facial covering 14 and the face of theuser to allow the facial covering to rest on the mouth and nose. Thesize and, in some cases, the collapsibility of the facial spacer allowsit to be quickly removed and stored in, for example, a pocket to awaitfurther use.

As is shown in FIG. 3, the facial covering 14 and the facial spacer 16can be utilized with protective eyewear 18, such as goggles, glasses,sunglasses, etc. The facial spacer can be configured to cover the mouthand nose in such a way that fogging of protective eyewear is greatlyreduced. More specifically, an improved seal beneath the eyes and alongthe cheeks reduces breath impinging on the protective eyewear, and thusreduces fogging as compared to breath rising through the facial coveringwithout the facial spacer in place. It should be noted, however, thatalthough cold weather garments and activities are described, the methodsand systems of the present invention can be readily applied to garmentsand/or protective gear used in warm temperatures and activities.

Accordingly, in one aspect of the present invention, a system forcreating a breathing space between a facial covering and a subject'smouth and nose is provided. Such a system can include a facial coveringoperable to at least partially encircle at least a portion of asubject's head and/or neck and a facial spacer operable to be removablypositioned between the facial covering and the subject adjacent thesubject's mouth and nose, wherein the facial spacer is free to moverelative to the facial covering when the facial covering is in positionadjacent the subject's mouth and nose. Because the facial spacer canmove relative to the facial covering, head and neck movements cause thefacial covering to slide across the facial spacer, thus reducingfeelings of restricted movement of the head and neck. Additionally, inone aspect, the facial spacer can be removable from between the facialcovering and the subject while the facial covering remains on thesubject.

Thus a variety of mechanisms for maintaining the facial spacer inposition are contemplated, depending upon the specific configuration anduse of the system. For example, the facial spacer can be placed over themouth and nose and be held in place by pressure exerted by the facialcovering itself. This is particularly applicable if the facial spacerhas elastomeric qualities that apply a downward pressure over the facialspacer toward the mouth and nose. It is also contemplated that thefacial spacer can be held in place by an elastomeric strap coupled tothe facial spacer, where the elastomeric strap is configured to surroundthe head and/or neck and is independent of the facial covering.Additionally, a similar configuration could include two or more straps,whether elastomeric or not, that surround the head and/or neck andfasten to one another to hold the facial spacer in place.

Numerous facial coverings are known, and any of a variety of thesefacial coverings that could benefit from the use of a facial spacer asdescribed herein should be considered to be within the present scope.The facial spacers can be made from a variety of materials, including,without limitation, elastomeric and nonelastomeric materials, includingcloth, polymeric materials, and the like. Facial coverings can includecold weather garments such as ski masks, neck gators, balaclavas,scarves, mufflers, and the like. As has been described, some materialsand facial covering configurations can hold the facial spacer in place,while others may require an additional supporting component such as astrap or other fastening mechanism. Facial coverings can cover primarilythe facial area, or they may encircle portions of the head and neck.

The facial spacer itself can be of a variety of configurations. Any of avariety of physical configurations that lift the facial covering fromthe face as is describe herein should be considered to be within thepresent scope. Thus the facial spacer can be substantially enclosed withbreathing vents, substantially open with minimal structure to supportthe facial covering, or structure intermediate these extremes. In oneaspect, as is shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a facial spacer 40 is shown. Thefacial spacer has one or more breathing vents 42 to disperse exhaled airand to allow fresh air into the spacer's interior. The facial spacer canhave lateral wall structures 44 and a front structure 46 to lift andsupport the facial covering away from the face. Support tabs 48 can becoupled to the wall structures 44 of the facial spacer 40 to facilitatemanipulation and sealing of the spacer on the face, as well as toprovide additional protection to the user's cheeks from the surroundingcold environment. Many types of balaclavas and gators leave a gap thatexposes the cheek and nose of the user to the environment. Bypositioning the support tabs on the facial spacer in a location thatcovers these vulnerable areas, the environmental protection of thefacial covering is enhanced.

The facial spacer 40 of FIG. 5 is configured such that it fits over themouth and nose of the user. In some aspects, a good seal around the eyesand cheeks can reduce protective eyewear fogging. The breathing vents 42allow the dispersion of moist breath air away from the face through thefacial covering (not shown) in a direction shown by the arrow at 50.Thus any moisture from the breath air that is retained in the facialcovering will be located away from the face along the front structure46.

In another aspect, as is shown in FIG. 6, a facial spacer can havebreathing vents 62 that are located generally orthogonally to thedirection of the breath in a lateral wall structure 64. By locatingbreathing vents in such a manner, the moist air exiting the facialspacer 68 will be generally distributed around the sides of the facerather than in front of the mouth and nose. In other words, thebreathing ports are oriented substantially orthogonally to an axisrunning dorsally to ventrally through the subject's head. It is alsocontemplated that breathing vents can be located in the front structure66 and in the wall structure 44 to allow breath to be dispersed inmultiple directional planes (not shown).

It may also be desirable for a facial spacer to have a more openstructure to improve breathing, speech, etc. For example, the facialspacer can have a space, opening, indentation, etc., that is created infront of the user's chin when the spacer is positioned over the mouthand nose. Such a space, opening or indentation can be sufficient toallow the chin to move without contacting the facial spacer when theuser is speaking, breathing, chewing, etc. In one aspect, the facialspacer has a peripheral supporting wall that is oriented to support thefacial covering away from the mouth and nose, where the facial spacer issubstantially open proximal to the peripheral supporting wall. In otherwords, the facial spacer can be open in front of the mouth and nose whenpositioned over the face. One example of such a spacer is shown in FIG.7. In this case, the facial spacer 70 can have a peripheral supportingwall 72 and an opening 74 located in front of the mouth and nose. Theopening 74 can be created in the front structure 76. In some aspects,however, the facial spacer can include a peripheral supporting wall andlittle if any front structure. The peripheral supporting wall can beleft open at the chin 78 to allow chin movement as has been described.

As has been described, the facial spacer can be removed, collapsed, andstored when not in use. A number of mechanisms can be utilized tofacilitate the collapsibility of the spacer device. For example, in oneaspect the spacer can be made of a rigid material or a rigid frame thatis capable of collapsing to a smaller size when not in use. In anotheraspect, the material from which the spacer is constructed can becollapsed, compressed, or folded to reduce the size of the facial spacerwhen not in use. In one specific aspect, the facial spacer can belaterally collapsible.

The facial spacer can be made from any material that is capable of beingformed into a spacer and used as described herein. As has beendescribed, collapsible materials can be particularly useful in someaspects. Such materials can include, without limitation, polymericcompounds, natural rubbers, synthetic rubbers, thermoplastic elastomers,and combinations thereof In one specific aspect, thermoplasticelastomers can be used. In another aspect, collapsible materials caninclude silicone, chloroprene polymers, thermoplastic polyurethanes, andcombinations thereof In another specific aspect, the collapsiblematerial can include a thermoplastic polyurethane.

Examining thermoelastic polymers in more detail, there are a variety ofmaterials that can be useful in making the facial spacers of the presentinvention. Non-limiting examples of thermoelastic polymers includestyrenic block copolymers, polyolefin blends, elastomeric alloys,thermoplastic polyurethanes, thermoplastic copolyester, andthermoplastic polyamides. Nonlimiting examples of thermoelastic polymersmaterials derived from block copolymers STYROFLEX® (BASF), KRATON®(Kraton Polymers), PELLETHANE® (Dow chemical), PEBAX®, ARNITEL® (DSM),HYTREL® (Du Pont), and the like. Nonlimiting examples of elastomeralloys include SANTOPRENE®& (ExxonMobile), GEOLAST® (ExxonMobile),SARLINK® (DSM), FORPRENE(® (So.F.ter. spa), ALCRYN(® (Du Pont), and thelike.

The present invention additionally provides methods for reducing breathcondensation on a facial covering. Such a method can include pulling afacial covering way from a contact position with a subject's mouth andnose, and inserting a facial spacer between the facial covering and thesubject adjacent the subject's mouth and nose, wherein the facial spacermaintains the facial covering in position away from the subject's mouthand nose. Thus as has been described, the facial covering is lifted awayfrom the user's mouth and nose to allow a reduction in the breathcondensation forming on the facial covering, or at the least, that moistfacial covering material is lifted away from the user's face. Whentemperature or other environmental conditions change, or when the facialcovering material has dried, or when the user encounters a situationwhere it is desireable, the facial spacer can be removed from betweenthe facial covering and the subject's mouth and nose to allow the facialcovering to return to the original position on the user's face.

Of course, it is to be understood that the above-described arrangementsare only illustrative of the application of the principles of thepresent invention. Numerous modifications and alternative arrangementsmay be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from thespirit and scope of the present invention and the appended claims areintended to cover such modifications and arrangements. Thus, while thepresent invention has been described above with particularity and detailin connection with what is presently deemed to be the most practical andpreferred embodiments of the invention, it will be apparent to those ofordinary skill in the art that numerous modifications, including, butnot limited to, variations in size, materials, shape, form, function andmanner of operation, assembly and use may be made without departing fromthe principles and concepts set forth herein.

1. A system for creating a breathing space between a facial covering anda subject's mouth and nose, comprising: a facial covering operable to atleast partially encircle at least a portion of a subject's head and/orneck; and a facial spacer operable to be removably positioned betweenthe facial covering and the subject adjacent the subject's mouth andnose, wherein the facial spacer is free to move relative to the facialcovering when the facial covering is in position adjacent the subject'smouth and nose and while the spacer is positioned between the facialcovering and the subject's mouth and nose.
 2. The system of claim 1,wherein the facial spacer is removable from between the facial coveringand the subject while the facial covering remains on the subject.
 3. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the facial spacer is collapsible when removedfrom between the facial covering and the subject.
 4. The system of claim3, wherein the facial spacer is laterally collapsible.
 5. The system ofclaim 3, wherein the facial spacer is made from a collapsible material.6. The system of claim 5, wherein the collapsible material includes amember selected from the group consisting of polymeric compounds,natural rubbers, synthetic rubbers, thermoplastic elastomers, andcombinations thereof.
 7. The system of claim 6, wherein the collapsiblematerial includes a member selected from the group consisting ofsilicone, chloroprene polymers, thermoplastic polyurethanes, andcombinations thereof.
 8. The system of claim 6, wherein the collapsiblematerial is a thermoplastic polyurethane.
 9. The system of claim 1,wherein the facial spacer includes a plurality of breathing portsdisposed therein.
 10. The system of claim 9, wherein at least a portionof the plurality of breathing ports is oriented substantiallyorthogonally to an axis running dorsally to ventrally through thesubject's head.
 11. The system of claim 1, wherein the facial coveringincludes a neck covering portion.
 12. The system of claim 1, wherein thefacial covering is operable to fully encircle at least a portion of thesubject's head and/or neck.
 13. The system of claim 1, wherein thefacial spacer has a structural configuration such that, when positionedover the mouth and nose, a space is created between the subject's chinand the facial spacer sufficient to allow the chin to move withoutcontacting the facial spacer.
 14. The system of claim 1, wherein thefacial spacer has a peripheral supporting wall operable to support thefacial covering away from the mouth and nose, and wherein the facialspacer is substantially open proximal to the peripheral supporting wall.15. A method of reducing breath condensation on a facial covering,comprising: pulling a facial covering away from a contact position witha subject's mouth and/or nose; and inserting a removable facial spacerbetween the facial covering and the subject adjacent the subject's mouthand nose, wherein the facial spacer maintains the facial covering inposition away from the subject's mouth and nose.
 16. The method of claim15, wherein the facial spacer is held in a position adjacent thesubject's mouth and nose by pressure applied by the facial covering. 17.The method of claim 15, further comprising removing the facial spacerfrom between the facial covering and the subject's mouth and nose toallow the facial covering to return to the contact position.
 18. Themethod of claim 17, further comprising collapsing the facial spacer toreduce the effective volume of the facial spacer for storage.
 19. Amethod of reducing breath condensation on a facial covering, comprising:observing breath condensation on a facial covering adjacent a subject'smouth and nose; pulling the facial covering away from a contact positionwith the subject's mouth and/or nose; inserting a facial spacer betweenthe facial covering and the subject adjacent the subject's mouth andnose, wherein the facial spacer maintains the facial covering inposition away from the subject's mouth and nose; observing a reductionin the breath condensation on the facial covering; removing the facialspacer from between the facial covering and the subject's mouth and noseto allow the facial covering to return to the contact position; andcollapsing the facial spacer to reduce the effective volume of thefacial spacer for storage.